The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County has named four St. Joseph County students as 2012 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars. This highly competitive award provides recipients with four-year full-tuition scholarships and a book stipend for the Indiana college or university of their choice.

This year’s scholars are Katelyn Breden, Clay High School; Devin Machowiak, Washington High School; Antonio Marchi, Mishawaka High School; and Luqun Shen, Penn High School.

Breden plans to attend Butler University to pursue its Science, Technology and Society program; Machowiak plans to study anthropology and biology at University of Evansville; Marchi plans to study psychology and theology at the University of Notre Dame; and Shen will study biology at the University of Notre Dame.

Awards are based on academic excellence, leadership, community service, employment history, written essays, personal recommendations, financial need, under representation, and whether the student is the first generation of her/his family to attend college. The Community Foundation received 63 outstanding applications from 12 schools. Nine of the applicants were ranked first in their graduating classes.

The scholarships are the result of a statewide Lilly Endowment initiative to help Hoosier students reach higher levels of education. Compared to other states, Indiana has a low percentage of residents over the age of 25 with a bachelor’s degree.